On April 25, Kyiv will host the offline stage of the AgriTech Hackathon—an international event where Ukrainian students will collaborate in teams with their Swedish peers to develop innovative solutions for the agricultural sector. Applications are open until April 23.

The AgriTech Hackathon is part of the CRAFT project (Co-cReating vAlue For enTrepreneurial engagement in Ukraine), implemented by Ukrainian Future, the business incubator of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in partnership with Halmstad University (Sweden), the Lviv Institute of Management (Ukraine), and with financial support from the Swedish Institute. The project builds on the outcomes of the previous ProActS program. The project coordinator is Professor Henrik Barth from Halmstad University.

This hackathon offers a unique opportunity for Ukrainian students to engage in international collaboration and work on real-world challenges in a country renowned for its agricultural potential. The most promising ideas will be selected for further development and prototyping, with support from the prototyping labs at Ukrainian Future and Halmstad University.

The program runs from April 25 to May 3 and includes team collaboration, an online workshop on Design Thinking Principles led by Martin Bergman, an industrial design engineer at Halmstad University, and final project presentations. The first phase—team formation and initial prototyping—will take place on April 25, 2025, from 10:00 to 17:00 at the Ukrainian Future business incubator (13 Chokolivsky Boulevard, Kyiv).

To participate in the AgriTech Hackathon, students aged 16–23 should:

• Have at least B2-level English.
• Be interested in agriculture, biotechnology, programming, or drone technologies.
• Be willing to work in teams and generate ideas.
• Bring a laptop and be able to attend in person in Kyiv on the hackathon day

What participants will gain:

• Teamwork experience with Swedish students.
• Hands-on contributions to real challenges in agriculture.
• A chance to implement their ideas in prototyping labs.
• New skills, networking, and mentorship from experts.

Application deadline: April 23, 2025. For registration and details, please visit the hackathon page on our website.

Sample Hackathon Challenges:

Safeguarding Open Fields from External Threats
Challenge: Reducing livestock losses due to predators (wolves, jackals, hawks)
Task: Develop pasture protection solutions to conserve agricultural and biological resources

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Optimizing Spare Part Supply for Agricultural Machinery
Challenge: Frequent machinery breakdowns and complicated logistics, especially in remote regions
Task: Create solutions for failure prediction, repair optimization, and on-site repairs (e.g., using 3D-printed parts)

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Smarter Farming
Challenge: Agricultural production optimization using modern digital technologies
Task: Develop hardware and software tools for automation (e.g., agro-navigation, remote monitoring, autopilot systems)

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Automation for Niche Product Production
Challenge: Lack of accessible, adaptable equipment leads small farms to rely on manual labor
Task: Develop automated, small-scale production solutions tailored to family farms

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New Approaches to Fruit Processing
Challenge: Large amounts of waste during fruit processing
Task: Create technologies to process surplus fruits into bioproducts (eco-packaging, compostables) and reduce landfill waste

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Reducing Costs During Harvest and Export Prep
Challenge: Post-harvest losses during transport and export preparation
Task: Develop technical and digital solutions to reduce costs and improve access to European markets

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Hygiene in Remote Pastures
Challenge: Low-tech environments and poor communication infrastructure in remote farms
Task: Design solutions for water purification, hygiene, electricity generation, and communication tools in the field

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Digital Tools for Farmers
Challenge: Limited connectivity and digital literacy hinder smart farming adoption
Task: Develop user-friendly digital platforms that work in low-connectivity environments and support cross-farm coordination